An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is set 500 years after Hawk led men and elves to the valley and locked them in with protective magic. The magic is failing and there are invaders waiting to move in. It's left to the last Black Staff carrier, a pair of human trackers and an elvish princess and her cousins to sound the alarm. This is a typical Brooks storyline. Young people forced in to accepting responsibility for the protection of their people while those passing on the responsibility fall. That's not a knock because Brooks manages to make the world and the characters interesting. I just wish it wasn't quite so predictable. View all my reviews

Dang, I missed an opportunity to knock off the only undefeated team in our Parrot Head league. It looked promising going in to Sunday's afternoon games but I only had a 2 point lead on Monday and he had Adrian Peterson and the Jets D so that lead evaporated quickly. The good news is that the wins and losses in my division worked out perfectly. I still have a one game lead in first place with a poor 3-2 record. Steven's one game behind me and I found myself in the position of having to root for him to lose so I can hold on to my lead. Family matters less than fantasy football. ;-) I rocked it in my work league, though. I won both two games by a bunch of points. My record is now 6-4 (we play two head to head games each week) and I'm tied for third place. The leader is 8-2 so first place is in reach if I can pull out a few more good weeks.

Oh, man, I was so excited tracking my new camera today. I saw that UPS delivered it at 1:39 PM. Wouldn't you know it? I ended up with an 11 hour work day so I didn't get home until 7 PM. It was killing me, I tell you! I busted in to the box within a minute of walking in the door. George helped me open it up, too. Apparently, there were interesting smells in the box along with the camera. Disappointingly, the battery for the SD1400 is different than the one for the SD1200. I was hoping I could have a spare battery for long trips but that is not to be. It also meant I had to wait for the new battery to charge before I could play. Fortunately, that didn't take too long. Here are the first pics on the new camera - I need to play with outside and daylight views and learn the new settings so all of these were automatic. View of the hi-def TV screen. No flash. The Baby in one of her usual lounging spots. Close up of George on the kitchen counter. Slightly pulled back vie...

I've been feeling flush ever since I paid my car off. This is despite dropping $2K on repairs right before I paid it off but I had that in my savings account so I didn't really feel the pain in my income stream. So, have I been saving money? Um, no. I have been more prudent than I thought I would be with my newfound dollars but I'm spending like I'm rich. My hair alone is requiring a small fortune to maintain (but it's worth it!). The latest expenditure started off with a simple visit to Staples with my buddy T. He had to drop off some empty toner cartridges for recycling so we did a little walk through the store to see if there was something we absolutely needed. There wasn't anything I needed but there was something I wanted. A new camera. In defense of my spending ways, I've been thinking about replacing my digital camera for a while. I've been buying Canon ELPHS for years and love them to literal pieces before upgrading to a new one. The Old ...

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong My rating: 4 of 5 stars I missed this one when it came out but that's OK with Armstrong's books as she focuses each one on a different character. I didn't feel like I missed a chapter in the ongoing story at all. This book finds the only female werewolf, Elena, looking for a mutt (non-Pack werewolf). The trail leads to Alaska where hubbie Clay joins her and mayhem ensues. I like Armstrong's books a lot because, even though the story lines are paranormal, the characters deal with true life emotions and situations. Elena is one of my favorite characters as she's made the best out of a crappy beginning of her life while accepting that her early years will still affect her. This is a good series that I don't see flagging at all. That makes me happy. View all my reviews

I was sitting at a co-worker's desk today and she said, out of the blue, "Your hair looks great like that. It must have taken you a long time to do." I was happy to report that it took me a mere eight minutes to do. Yep, I've timed it because I knew y'all would want to know for my follow-up report on the Brazilian Blowout. It's been 7 1/2 weeks since I had it done. That makes it about half way to when they said it would wear off as it's supposed to last up to three months. I've also had one coloring treatment that didn't seem to affect it at all. Is it still bone straight? No, unfortunately. The hair underneath on the back of the nape of my neck has moved back to wavy. Not yet frizzy and snarly like it used to be but still starting to show signs of its old behavior. If I let it air dry, there's definite texture there. However, if I blow-dry my hair, it turns out quite straight and, more amazingly, not frizzy or Bozo the Clown like as i...

OK, I just couldn't stomach writing about last week until now. Monday Night Football probably gave me an ulcer for life. Not only were my Packers self-destructing to the Bears (the Bears!), I was both starting and playing against the same players in Fantasy Football. The main one being Aaron Rodgers. In the end, I would have been OK with the fantasy loss if Rodgers and company had come back to win the game but I ended up with a 2 point victory. Which is good since it put me at 3-0 and firmly in first place in my division. I didn't fare as well in my other league where I split the games. This week, the club league looked just brutal in projections and it turned out to be so. I played against Arian Foster, Maurice Jones-Drew, Rashard Mendenhall and Zach Miller. I don't want to actually do the math but I think any combination of the three could of beat me. OK, I did the math and as long as Foster was one of the three, I was sunk. The good news is that in my work league,...

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting start to a series. Set in the near future in Melbourne, the story revolves around a female half werewolf, have vampire who works for an agency that keeps non-humans under control. Lots of sex and violence and a story that was somewhat predictable but sets up a series quite nicely. View all my reviews

Undead and Unfinished by MaryJanice Davidson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This series started out pretty light and fluffy but it took a dark turn a couple of books ago and even more so in this book. Betsy and her sister Laura the Antichrist agree to visit Satan in hell so that Laura can learn more about her heritage (she's Satan's daughter) and learn to control her powers. The two jump through time and, well, I don't want to put in spoilers in but let's just say this had a dark, surprising ending. Looking forward to the next one. View all my reviews

Holy cow, I've managed to stay on pace. I finished 108 books through September. If I'd just stayed home one night this week, I would actually have been ahead for the first time because I'm almost finished with the last Betsy Taylor book from Mary Janice Davidson. I can see the home stretch but I can't slack too much. We have a lot of trips still to make this year and not all of them are going to be conducive to reading.

Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was like the bag of candy corn I bought this weekend. I opened it up and the next thing I knew I was done with it. Another fun read in the series. Betsy is off to the East coast to deal with a potential vampire/werewolf war while her sister Laura, AKA The Devil's Daughter, runs amok at home. As usual, I think Betsy gets out of trouble a little too easily but I enjoy it nonetheless. View all my reviews

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart My rating: 4 of 5 stars Set in the not so distant future, two people fall into a not so healthy romantic relationship. Both Lenny (Russia) and Eunice (Korea) are children of immigrants who came for the American Dream. That dream is now an Orwellian nightmare where everyone is wired in, the economy is on the brink of collapse and the government asks you to confirm that you'll deny what you see. Lenny's side of the story is told through his diary, Eunice's through her "teens" which appear to be email or really long text messages. There was certainly sadness and introspection and a lot of discourse on familial relationships and duties. This is my first Shteyngart but I suspect I'll go back and read his first two books based on the favorable reviews they got and how much I liked this one. View all my reviews

I've completely overscheduled myself (again!) and topped it off with a sick day on Thursday where I literally slept and laid on my couch so I got behind on putting in my football picks. I try to have them done by Friday. I made sure I was up in what I thought was plenty of time to set my lineups for both Fantasy Leagues and get my Pick 'Em in. Fantasy got done (just one change needed) then I moved on to the Yahoo Pick 'Ems and finally went to my work (and money) Pick 'Em on CBS Sports and clicked on my winner pick for the first game but nothing happened. I reloaded the page, still couldn't click. It finally occurred to me that I was locked out. Sure enough, I checked the rules and the games lock one hour before game time. I missed it by 6 minutes. We pay out weekly and my picks so far haven't been stellar so I don't know that I should have expected to win anyway. However, we have a bigger payout at the end of the year and I pretty much screwed myself ...

Sports from Hell by Rick Reilly My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rick Reilly is funny. Funny when he's picking on himself and funny when he's picking on others. I literally LOLd with this book. The premise is that Reilly heads around the globe to find, and most of the time participate in, the world's dumbest sports. Chess Boxing, Rock-Scissors-Paper Championship, Ferret Legging, Beer Pong, World Sauna Championships...even Jarts (remember metal lawn darts?) make the list. Easy, fun read. View all my reviews

Nothing Happened and Then It Did by Jake Silverstein My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting mishmash of fact and fiction (at least I think it was a mishmash - it sounded like it might have been more fact). Silverstein decides to be a journalist with the theory if he goes somewhere off the beaten path, he has a better chance of capturing the "big" story before he gets scooped. Turns out, not many big stories come his way but he does have some interesting adventures revolving around buried pirate treasure, a McDonalds in Mexico and a dangerous Mexican road race among other things. View all my reviews

Apparently, being on my Fantasy Football team is bad for Running Backs. I lost another one this weekend. Reggie Bush broke his leg and will be out at least six weeks. I wasn’t even starting him because his numbers haven’t been great. But, still... For some reason, I only had one Tight End in that league and I need one to cover Jason Witten’s bye week (and maybe this week if his head is still hurt) so I dropped Bush and picked up Marcedes Lewis. The good news is my overall winning percentage went up. I’m 2-0 in the Arizona PHC League and standing alone at the top of my division. The bad news is my winning percentage in my work league didn’t go up enough. I’m now 1-3 along with 2 other teams and, thankfully for my psyche, one dude is 0-4. The best news is that my Packers are at 2-0. I’m looking forward to them smoking the Bears on Monday Night Football which I’ll be watching at home in hi-def for the first time. It will be pretty!

There are two things we look for in Arizona Restaurant Week - the adventure of trying new places and the comfort of in knowing we’re going to get a great, unique meal at one of our favorite places. Last night, we went for comfort and had dinner at Cheuvront . Cheuvront is one of my favorite places to go. I just wish it were closer to home but it’s really just a light rail trip away from home so that’s not bad. I have yet to be disappointed there whether in the wine, cheese, appetizers or entrees. Everything is pretty yummy. The service is always good and you can count on a James Bond film playing while you’re there. Here’s their menu for Restaurant Week: * First Course (choice of): o Truffled Grilled Cheese : Rich Tangy Grafton Cheese drizzled in truffle oil and melted between Brioche toast o Peach and Blue Salad : Arugula greens with sliced peach, crumbled blue cheese and candied pecans tossed in a champagne vinaigrette o Shrimp Bisque: Intense Seaf...

We voyaged out for our first Arizona Restaurant Week meal on Sunday night. The choice was True Food at Biltmore Fashion Park. I’d never been there but had heard good things about it. It’s a Sam Fox restaurant and all of his establishments have been notable. I was the first one there and the place was buzzing with patrons at 6 PM. The hostess promptly seated me and did a nice job of chatting. “Is this your first time here? You’re going to love it!” Our waiter was also Johnny on the spot and fetched me water and a glass of wine while I waited for my companions. While I was waiting, I perused their regular menu. The concept is Globally Inspired Cuisine and the menu reflected that. I loved that the wine was coded Biodynamically Farmed, Certified Organically Farmed or Sustainably Farmed and Organic and Gluten Free food items were noted. Here’s the menu they offered for Restaurant Week: * First Course (choice of): o Shrimp Dumplings, Shiitake Mushrooms, Ginger & Ci...

Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting, gross, funny and thoughtful read. A zombie virus has been released. If you get it, you turn into a zombie of the type we see in George Romero movies who sluggishly move and mindlessly seek out brains to eat. Humans are getting wiped out right and left because most of them are becoming zombie food. A few zombies, however, still retain cognitive skills but with a zombie bent. Yes, they really, really, really want to eat brains but they're smart enough to go about it without getting killed themselves. Well, for the most part. The book follows a group of these smart zombies as they form a very odd family unit and go in search of the man who created the virus. The question to be asked, is thought enough to be "human" or worthy of continued existence? Or, feelings and thoughts aside, do all zombies need to die? View all my reviews

I'm against the death penalty but if you put a hacker or a spammer in front of a firing squad, I probably wouldn't stop anyone from shooting. Seriously. What incredible lowlifes. My Yahoo account got hacked/spoofed/co-opted this morning. I woke up at 8 AM to the ping of text messages from my friends letting me know about it but the damage was done. I think everyone in my address book (which is probably close to 2,000 people), including this blog, got sent a link to what I imagine is an ad for male enhancements. I don't know because I didn't open the link. I changed my password and ran a virus scan on my computer that came up negative so I'm not sure how it happened. I hope it stops but they have all the info now so I guess they could send it out again. A friend of mine ended up closing her Hotmail and Facebook accounts this past week because someone sent six mass emails and set up several bogus Facebook accounts as well. Again, bastages. What's surprising...